Tag Archives: operators

Graders have always been the best choice amongst most of the operators who are been assigned the task to remove debris from a construction site. They see this as a difficult task only because it is hard to break down the debris that has formed a solid state by now and then load them in the truck. Also for operators who work in a dump yard where ultimately all the debris are unwanted wastages are finally dumped, they see the work to breaking down the wastages are a tough nut to crack. However, if they are given the right sort of heavy equipment then perhaps they might find some solace. Ideally, they demand for the right machine because they can’t perform to their full potential if they are given machines that are not meant to do that kind of work and most of the time they demand for Graders for this kind of job.

Some operators are quite selective with the brand of machine they will work on. No wonder these operators have loads of experience under their belt and they know what they are asking for. It has been observed that such operators demand for CAT graders as they find it to be far more reliable and easy to work with. One must understand that operators want to work on machines that provide them with ample of comfort and space.

They do not want to slog for every small thing and want the machine to take care of most of the production part. Other than comfort they also look for convenience as they believe that heavy equipment should provide the required convenience to the operators who otherwise have to go through an ordeal on the site. Removing debris and managing the dirt is quite a task and not many want to venture into it. It is perhaps the experienced ones who take up the challenge and hence their demand for a machine of their choice is absolutely justified.

The height of the machine to the top of the cabin is around 11 ft in which means that it provides ample space to the guy inside and also allows him to move freely without getting hit by other significant gadgets. The M-series gadgets of CAT graders are termed to be phenomenal by industry experts and also been rated as one of the best as compared with the rest of the series. Operators also face a hard time with the various functions in the machine. The modern day graders are equipped with state of the art features which makes grading work simple. However, CAT makers have ensured that they keep the functions as simple as they can so that the operators to get a hang of it within few hours.

Most of the features in the M-series grader are controlled with a joystick and there are few other buttons that are used to move the machine and its accessories. However, it does not take enough time of the operator to understand those levers and work his way. Overall, most of the operators have appreciated CAT graders and has kept it at the top of their demand list.

In order to speed up the work, you have to give your employees the latest equipment so that they are comfortable using them and can deliver in no time. You can’t use an age old machine and expect your men to complete the work in a stipulated time frame. They just will not be able to do that even if they want to. Same goes in the case of excavators. You can’t expect the operators to excavate a huge portion of land in just few days by giving them an excavator that is perhaps decade old. There is a possibility that the operator may not know its functions properly and might take time to get his hands on the machine or may just not want to work on it. So when you are looking to get a work done in a designated time frame you also need to ensure that you give your operators the equipment that they are comfortable working with.

Heavy equipment manufacturing companies have sensed the pulse of the operators and have therefore manufactured various types of machines that are technologically advanced. These types of machines mostly have automated functions which eases the work of the operator and at the same time lessens the chance of any accidents happening on the jobsite. Now we have several types of excavators in the mining and construction industry such as dragline excavators, bucket wheel excavators which might have existed for decades but the changes that are brought in is from within. For instance, the engine of the machine has been made better. The levers in the machine have been lessened and with the help of just few levers, the operator can handle most of the work.

It seems that there are no major changes made in the concept of the excavator it is just that the changes are made in the interiors which make things convenient for the end user. When heavy equipment companies manufacture excavators, they have to take into consideration a lot of factors. Factors such as if they are manufacturing the excavators for construction industry or for mining industry because the make of the machine will be different for different industries. The requirement of a mining industry will be obviously different from the construction one. They might want some additional features which is not required in the construction sector or can ask for adding few attachments in the existing excavator.

Ideally, many heavy equipment companies conduct surveys to understand the need of the operators. What they want to be added and how they want it to work. If there are any deficiencies in the existing model, how can they bring some improvement? They manage to take the survey from different companies across many states and then on the basis of the wants of the operators, they try to bring it new features. It is evident that the engineers have a tough time to get most of the features in but they still manage to do so. They eventually understand that in today’s time in order to exist in the industry they have to make as per the needs of the operators.

Breaking down of heavy equipment in midst of loads of work is nothing less than a nightmare for the construction company. This is perhaps the last thing that they will ever want to happen in their business. Heavy equipment not working due to technical glitch and unavailability of a competent mechanic is a big problem that one can imagine. Dependency on others especially mechanics have proved to be pretty expensive for many construction companies and for which time and again they had to pay a heavy price for it. Therefore one should learn for the mistakes and never let it happen again.

Since the onus of the well-being of the heavy equipment lies mainly on the operator, it is therefore the operator should also take the onus to learn how to fix machines. Many small construction companies who can’t afford to hire a team of mechanics hire operators who have fair deal of knowledge to fix heavy equipment. It makes more sense to pay more to operators with good knowledge of heavy equipment than paying to mechanics who charges a bomb from the companies.

Make use of user manual to learn repairing techniques:-

When there is a minor glitch in the heavy equipment, there is no point to call a mechanic. The operator if he knows how to fix minor glitches can prove to quite a resource to the company. In case, he does not know to fix glitches he can take help from the user manual and understand the basics of the machine first. As a matter of fact, he has to use the user manual to check the various functions and how to use them properly. He can’t experiment as long as he is not aware of the different functions of the machine and therefore his first book of reference will be the user manual. He will also get to learn few basic tricks to repair the machine if there appears to be a minor technical glitch somewhere down in the engine or any other part of the machine. He will find it to be extremely helpful and can manage things on his own rather than having dependency on a mechanic to sort such a simple problem.

Blogs can be helpful:-

Ideally most of the operators are attached to some or the other blog that talks about heavy equipment. Now if they experience any issue with their machine which they are unable to sort, they can simply put forth the issue on the blog and check for people’s responses. One can expect some marvelous workarounds to the issue and applying them can really work for you. So make use of blogs in times when heavy equipment has ceased to work and get some solution from there.

Videos on internet can be a quick solution:-

Watching videos that shows how to fix a problem can prove to be really helpful. There you will watch the guy actually fixing the machine and you will have a better idea to solve your problem. Moreover you do not have to wait for anybody’s reply on solving the issue. You can get a quick solution in no time.

The month of December is here and it reminds us of nothing but only Christmas. We tend to forget our worries, our hardships and just want to flow with the good time around. We see everyone happy and that definitely has an impact on us and the way we take things. Though it snows in most part of the country, we still find it pleasurable and do not get annoyed of the cold weather. We struggle to move out in the snow but we still do that to bring gifts for our near and dear ones and this joy can’t be compared with any other joy that we get each and every year. We believe that the construction industry is never at rest but probably this is the only time when they do not care a lot about their business. Though work is carried on as usual if it is a very important project which has strict deadlines but other than that, people tend to take leaves and have a good time with their families.

This is also particularly the period when the employees of a construction company receive lot of gifts from all corners and one such entity that showers good number of gifts to the operators is the heavy equipment manufacturing companies. Right from the month of December, they pull out a list of construction companies that have purchased heavy equipment from them and set a margin on the kind of gifts they would be giving. It ideally goes this way. The company that have bought more number of machines will get sort of expensive gifts and the ones who have just given a minor push to their sales figure will be given quality gifts but may not be classy ones.

The heavy equipment manufacturing companies usually grade the operators a lot. They believe that the feedback of the operators does matter a lot and therefore they should be rewarded for their unbiased feedback. This is why they buy gifts particularly for the operators and for the people who are in the upper management. It seems that they are only entitled to offer gifts in kind and not in cash to the operators or else it may also result in bribing and therefore they ensure that they do not get into any sort of problem.

Many heavy equipment companies offer some gift vouchers which can be redeemed at only those restaurants that is defined in the gift voucher. This means that they can’t make use of it in any restaurant in the city and have to selectively go to only those places that are mentioned in the voucher. Some operators are also given vouchers that they use only for shopping. Hence, if they want to use it to eat in a restaurant, they can’t use them. They have to necessarily go and buy some accessories or stuffs that they like from a particular shopping center only. However, it is still worthy to get a gift during Christmas as one can certainly make good use of it.

For special jobs, you need men who have full-fledged knowledge about the work and also experience to handle that kind of work without hassles. Now this knowledge and experience are secondary. What is primary is the training that is given to the person to do that kind of job. In the construction sector, every person is trained to do his part of the job well but it is the operators/mechanics who require specialized training to work on different kinds of heavy equipment. Though the primary function of every machine may be the same but in order to work them out like a professional, the operator has to get himself trained for some weeks and then try his hand doing the actual job. He may find it difficult in the beginning but as he prepares himself for the task on the machine, he will find his comfort zone in the new heavy equipment.

Need to be slow in the beginning:-

When the operator first starts to get trained on the new heavy equipment, he should be slow with maneuvering the machine. He may have worked earlier on years on a particular type of heavy equipment but the new one is different and it may act differently in different situations. So he needs to first know the various functions that are available in the machine and how it impacts the overall movement of the equipment. Once he gets his hands on it, it will be a piece of cake for him. Also, when situation changes he need to again go slow and check how the machine reacts.

For instance, if the operator is given to work on an updated version of a CAT excavator which is huge in size and is used for operations in the forest/construction area. The forest land in every location is different so will the machine act differently. The operator needs to be extra careful when he moves out of one forest location and enters the new one. The land out there may be full of ditches or quite muddy to not have a stable ground for the machine. This will give a hard time for the operator to work on the new excavator.

Should remember the different functions:-

Normally when you are accustomed to working with a set of a machine, you tend to know the in and out of it. If someone closes your eyes and instruct you on what you should be doing, you may perhaps have little problem but will reach your hands to the right buttons inside the machine. This is because you know everything about it that you can work being blindfolded. Well, the case changes completely when you are handed over a new heavy equipment which does have its switches and buttons in the same place as it was in the old machine. So you need to get your hands trained on them as well. By no means can you press the wrong button or else you will end up in a big blunder.